The present invention generally relates to devices for feeding cables from reels to, for example, a conduit, and more specifically relates to a powered device having rotating members for feeding cables.
When cables, such as electrical, coaxial, telephone cables, etc. are first installed in a building, the cables are typically run through a conduit which has been previously installed in the walls of the building after the building has been framed, but before the wall surfaces have been erected. The process for running the cables through the conduit typically starts with a worker shooting or blowing a "mouse" (a form of a plug) through the conduit where the mouse is connected to the end of a strong, lightweight nylon cord. Blowing of the mouse is achieved by placing the mouse in the conduit and applying air pressure behind the mouse to force it through the conduit. The mouse has a diameter which is slightly less than the diameter of the conduit. Therefore, the air pressure which is applied behind the mouse causes the mouse to move through the conduit.
After the mouse has been blown through the conduit such that the mouse appears at the other end of the conduit, a heavier synthetic rope or steel cable is connected to the end of the nylon cord, and the nylon cord is pulled back through the conduit so that the steel cable is pulled through the conduit. Once the nylon cord has been pulled completely back through the conduit to provide that the end of the steel cable appears at the end of the conduit, a grouping of cables, where each cable is carried on an individual reel, is connected to the end of the steel cable which has not yet entered the conduit. Then, the steel cable is pulled completely through the conduit as the cables unwind from their respective reels, and the cables advance in the conduit. Typically, a lubricant must be applied to the cables being pulled through the conduit to reduce friction, thereby facilitating movement of the cables through the conduit and avoiding undue damage to the cables. Once the cables appear at the end of the conduit, the cables are disconnected from the steel cable, and the installation of the cables in the conduit is complete.
Manual installation of the cables into the conduit typically requires several workers. A separate worker is often needed to unwind each cable from its respective reel. Also, a worker is needed to lubricate the grouping of cables as the grouping enters the conduit.
There are some commercially-available devices which are designed for use in pulling cables off reels and feeding the cables to a conduit. However, some of these devices do not readily conform to cables having different diameters. Additionally, many of these devices may not prevent the cables from overlapping and becoming tangled during the feeding operation. Also, none of these devices provide that a smaller cable, such as a ground cable, is kept separate from the remaining cables during the feeding operation. Hence, in pulling the larger cables in the grouping, the device may not pull the smaller cables in the grouping as efficiently as the larger cables. This may be due to, for example, inadequate traction with the smaller cables as a result of engagement with the larger cables. Still yet further, while some of the devices provide rotating members for pulling the cables off the reels, the devices provide that the cables must be fed to and removed from the rotating members while the rotating members are generally in contact with each other and rotating. This can prove relatively difficult to do. Finally, many of the cable feeding devices which are commercially available are relatively difficult to transport, and many of these device must be anchored to the ground during the pulling operation to prevent the device from moving substantially toward the reels.